Card-O-Matic: Increasing Student Participation

TIPS & TRICKS: Tammy Ritter – “Card-O-Matic” Program Transcript
Tammy Ritter (Interview):
The tip I have is called the “Card-O-Matic.”
“Card-O-Matic”
Ritter (Interview):
…And what this is, is a way to call on students, and I write everybody’s name
down on a 3-by-5 card, and I hole-punch it in the corner, and put it on a ring.
And what this does is it helps me make sure that I’m calling on everyone and not
just the same students over and over again.
And also it holds the students accountable for listening to the information, and
they have to pay attention because their name could get called at any moment.
And after I’ve called on them once, their name could come up again, so they
can’t just tune out. So… “Oh, I already had a turn, so now I can just tune out and
think about something else.” So, being that they’re in there twice, they know that
their name could come up again shortly.
And then they start to memorize where they are in the cards, so that’s why I
shuffle the cards periodically so they never know.
And it also helps with giving those kids that need extra think time… I can use it to
forewarn students that they’re coming up next in the cards, so when I get to
them, it lessens their anxiety, ‘cause they’ve had a chance to think about what
they’re going to say.
It’s called the “Card-O-Matic.”